In 2003,Bollinger was a named defendant representing the University of Michigan in the Supreme Court cases Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger.[12] In the Grutter case,the Court found by a 5–4 margin that the affirmative action policies of the University of Michigan Law School were constitutional. But at the same time,it found by a 6–3 margin in the Gratz case that the undergraduate admissions policies of Michigan were not narrowly tailored to a compelling interest in diversity and 20 predetermined points are awarded to underrepresented minorities,and thus that they violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Bollinger lived in the Columbia President's House from February 2004 until the end of his tenure as president,after the building underwent a $23 million renovation.[14][15]
On October 19,2010,the Board of Trustees announced through a university-wide email that Bollinger had agreed to continue as president for at least the next five years.[17]
Bollinger was the subject of criticism for his role in advocating the expansion of the university into the Manhattanville neighborhood and the use of eminent domain to help it seize property there.[18] The Bollinger administration's expansion plans were criticized as fundamentally incompatible with the 197/a plan for development crafted by the community,and for failing to address the neighborhood's need to maintain affordable housing stock.
Bollinger attempted to expand the international scope of the university,took frequent trips abroad and invited world leaders to its campus. Bollinger was criticized for taking a neutral public position on controversies regarding the Middle East Languages and Cultures (MEALAC) department.[19][20]
In 2013,Bollinger's total compensation was $4.6 million,making him the highest paid private college president in the United States.[21]
At a January 2021 rally during a student tuition strike protesting the university's tuition rates,Young Democratic Socialists of America organizers cited as further evidence of alleged inequitable allocation of university resources the fact that Bollinger's salary had been frozen that year,while Barnard College administration's salaries had been cut,including by 20 percent in the case of Sian Beilock,Barnard College's president.[22]
Bollinger's residence was the site of demonstrations in which his high salary was criticized as an example of the university's "inequitable allocation of resources."[25]
Bollinger described the event as part of "Columbia's long-standing tradition of serving as a major forum for robust debate, especially on global issues."[29] Bollinger released a statement outlining his introduction, explaining to the student body that the free speech afforded to Ahmadinejad was for the sake of the students and the faculty rather than for the benefit of Ahmadinejad himself, whom Bollinger referred to as "exhibiting all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator."[30][31]
In July 2010, he was appointed chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York board of directors for 2011. Previously, he had served as deputy chair.[6]
Retirement
On April 14, 2022, Bollinger announced in an email to the Columbia student body that he would be retiring from his role as President effective June 30, 2023. In January 2023, Columbia announced that Minouche Shafik, president of the London School of Economics, would succeed him as president of the university.[34]
Personal life
Bollinger is married to artist Jean Magnano Bollinger. They have a son and a daughter and five grandchildren.[35][36] Bollinger's family is Catholic.[37]
Books
In addition to his academic and administrative positions, Bollinger has written many articles and books on the subject of free speech.
The Tolerant Society: Freedom of Speech and Extremist Speech in America (Oxford University Press, 1986) ISBN0-19-504000-7
Images of a Free Press (University of Chicago Press, 1991) ISBN0-226-06349-6
Eternally Vigilant: Free Speech in the Modern Era (University Of Chicago Press, 2002) ISBN0-226-06353-4
Uninhibited, Robust, and Wide-Open: A Free Press for a New Century (Oxford University Press, 2010) ISBN978-0-19-530439-8
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